she promised him. “Just tell me the truth.”
“That’s what I said I’d do, isn’t it?” He sighed again. She could see he was struggling to form the words. “I’ll start with the physical. We’re usually taller than your kind. By a head or more, at least. I’d actually be considered fairly short.” He laughed, but it was an oddly forced laugh.
“Our skin is also much lighter. ‘Elven skin,’ some call it, but that gives it unnecessary embellishment.”
“It shines, though,” she said gently. “Sometimes, I’ve seen yours absolutely radiate in the light.”
“That’s when you should have stayed away. We’re most dangerous, then.”
“Tell me,” she pressed. “Tell me why you say that.”
“We’re stronger than humans. More agile, too. Our bones are nearly unbreakable, but they’re unbelievably light. It gives us a certain… grace. Our balance is better because of it. I’m what, nearly a foot taller than you? And yet I can guarantee that I weigh less than you do.
“Our vision is also better. When I look at your face, I can see every imperfection that makes you so unique. Every flaw that makes you so beautiful.”
“You… find me beautiful?” she stumbled, amazed.
“Of course I do, Laura. Of course I do.”
Her heart fluttered.
Maybe she was developing feelings for him. It was the only thing that would explain her sitting here. If she were sane, if she had any shred of common sense, she would be clawing at the door, desperate to escape. She would be calling the police, telling them she’d been abducted, and have fifteen cruisers chasing them down the highway already. But instead she just sat there in silence.
“We’re here,” Logan announced. It was the first time he spoke since she pulled her hand away, nearly an hour ago.
She looked across at him. He still looked straight ahead, and despite having parked the car, kept his hands on the wheel. His shoulder slumped, and he looked tired. Maybe as tired as she felt. But she knew it wasn’t a physical weariness that touched him. It was an emotional one.
She studied his face. His skin looked so smooth, so delicate. So white. His dark eyes made a perfect contrast, as did his pitch-black hair, which was styled up so exorbitantly. She realized for the first time that he had near-perfect cheekbones, not too high and not too low, and that his nose and jaw were both strong and handsome. He was handsome. But he was also something else.
“You’re a vampire,” she whispered.
He cringed. “I hate that name. Hate that title. And it’s not who I am. It might be a small part of what I must do to survive, but… it’s not me.”
A vampire. He had told her that’s what human folklore would call him. A bloodsucker, a monster, a predator, a killer. And he was sitting right beside her, close enough for her to reach out and touch.
“You feed on human blood.” She should be terrified, saying that. She should be terrified, sitting so close to him. She should be terrified, except that… she wasn’t. All she felt was a cool, dark calm.
“Yes,” he admitted. “Every time, I try to fight it, but… I can’t. Morals and ethics mean nothing when you’re starving. We battle depression between feedings. The longer we go without blood, the less confident we get. The less graceful we get, the less powerful we get. We become shells of our former selves, and we become obsessive about finding food. My only solace is how infrequently I need to feed.”
“How often do you do it?” she asked.
“Twice a year, only.”
“And…” she gulped, “…when was the last time you fed?”
Despite himself, he smiled. “Less than a week ago.”
All of a sudden, all of it clicked into place for Laura. All of a sudden, everything made sense. His arrival here. The unusual murder. The animal warning. And his transformation after.
“You’re the animal,” she breathed. And for the first time in his presence, she felt a shiver run down her spine.
He nodded. “I am, aren’t I? And you’re the only one who knows. Usually I don’t leave my prey like that, for people to find after, but I was careless.”
“The hitman,” Laura continued. “You’re the one who killed him!”
“Yes. You see, I try to balance things out in choosing my targets. The man had a body list at least twenty long on him. A contract killer, he would have struck soon had I not acted. And then some time again, thereafter. It’s a small solace I can take in thinking